You are browsing the archive for Shrewsbury International cartoon Festival 2012.

Bill Stott,who will be writing regularly for the Procartoonists.org blog, gives us his take on the Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival:

Shrewsbury is an opportunity to meet that most unpredictable of creatures: The Public. At Shrewsbury at least, they take cartooning in their stride. I was inking my 8ft by 5ft Big Board, when a couple (“We’ve come all the way from Wolverhampton for this.”) sidled up to watch.

He said, “It’s quite good, that.” Then she said, “’Course, I expect you get all your drawings off the internet.” She was wearing a plastic rain hood so I forgave her.

Later, whilst drawing fast black-and-white cartoons for Noel Ford’s instant gallery in the market, I was slightly disheartened by the number of people who weren’t taking any notice.

Suddenly, and at close hand, a male voice shouted, “Irene, they’re over here!” Good, thought I. Fans. Then there was another much louder shout. “IRENE! IRENE! THE TOILETS! THEY’RE OVER HERE!” He was right. They were.

Mr and Mrs Deafbladder bustled through. Much, much later he may have been puzzled by the black felt-tip pen stroke across the back of his mac.

Bill Stott will be back next week with more musing on the life of the professional cartoonist.

This will be our final post on Shrewsbury 2012, so we’ll finish with a round-up of links to personal blogs written by festival attendees this year: Alex Lester, the Radio 2 presenter and patron of the festival, wrote not one, but two blogs; and posts have also been written by the Procartoonists.org members Huw Aaron, Tim Harries, Rob Murray and Royston Robertson.

For the first time in nine years, the Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival had April weather in April. However this did not deter the crowds who came to enjoy this year’s Cartoonists Live events in the town.

More than 30 of the country’s top cartoonists, plus artists from France, Holland and Australia, were there to draw live for the public, on this year’s theme of Flying.

There were large (2.4m x 2m) Big Board cartoons painted live in the square; workshops for budding cartoonist of all ages; talks and cartooning advice clinics. Caricaturists drew caricatures for free and you could have your body drawn, rather than your head, at the Reverse Caricaturing stand.

Shrewsbury’s unique Melodrawma was performed: a comic strip drawn by 3 cartoonists to live narration and musical accompaniment. Once again Reader’s Digest was in The Square running its popular Beat the Cartoonist exhibition.

The rain gets the better of the Reader's Digest display

There was a new venue for the festival this year, the New Market Hall, close to the Square. This is home to the Visual Arts Network Gallery, which played host to Flights of Fancy, the main festival exhibition of nearly 100 cartoons.

The New Market Hall was also the venue for the annual instant exhibition of quickly drawn cartoons. Theatre Severn has an exhibition by French cartoonists, called French Flies, which runs until mid-July.

Shops around the town supported the event by displaying cartoons in their windows to form the S-mile High Trail, meandering around the town and linking the various festival venues.

It all added up to another successful event, and plans are underway for the 10th Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival in April next year.

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